Sewage Treatment

Sewage treatment is the right thing for our region. We can no longer pump raw sewage into our ecosystem, without recognizing the significant consequences. The scientific evidence supporting treatment is sound; the Province has mandated treatment; and it is time to move passed the debate.

Recent CRD reports have found that prior to discharge from the sewage outfalls, there was a rich community of organisms at the points of discharge that comprised more than 300 species. After forty years of raw materials overwhelming the ecosystem, the number of species is declining.

In 2005, an independent scientific and legal analysis of the CRD’s monitoring data was conducted and demonstrated conclusively that the areas around the outfalls have higher levels of toxic chemicals than the levels prescribed by both provincial legislation and national guidelines for contaminated sites.

In 2006, the BC Ministry of Environment supported these findings in the order to treat our region’s sewage. The Federal Government’s scientific analysis considers the Capital Region a high risk and we will order treatment by 2020 under the Federal Fisheries Act.

It is time to move beyond the debate about treatment. The evidence suggests overwhelmingly that we cannot continue to dump our solid waste without treatment. We are legally required to treat sewage. We must now focus on ensuring that our investment in treatment technology provides the best possible return for our money. This means selecting technologies that allow for the capture of energy and bio products to reduce our environmental footprint and reduce our use of fossil fuels.

The cost of treatment will be expensive. If we utilize our borrowing capacity under the Municipal Finance Authority to construct publicly-operated facilities, we can retire the borrowed costs over thirty or forty years. The longer-term cost servicing, combined with the publicly-financed low interest rate, will ensure that the taxpayer burden is minimized, while still providing the best value for our money.